Zoe - My all-time favorite name. "Z" is such a cool letter, and I adore Greek girls' names that end with "e". I also like that it has a great meaning ("life"), and manages to be both spunky and sophisticated at the same time.

Nicholas - I love the nickname Nick, and actually have both Nicholas and Dominic on my top 10 list for boys, but Nicholas is definitely my favorite of the two (as well as being my overall favorite boys' names). It reminds me of Christmas, my favorite holiday, and I just think it is incredibly handsome.

Catherine - My mother wanted to use it for my little sister's name, but Dad vetoed it, so I always thought it would be wonderful to use it for a daughter so Mom can at least have a granddaughter with her favorite name. (Plus, I love it myself, too!) As a bonus, Cate was my grandmother's maiden name.

Veronica - I love "V" names, and Veronica has always been my favorite. I even chose it as my confirmation name because I love the story of St. Veronica. (And I could also use "Nic" as a nickname!)

Alexander - "X" is another very cool letter, and it sounds like a "Z", so it's like double the awesomeness. It also happens to be a family name for both of us -- my grandfather's middle name and a surname on my hubby's side of the family.

Penelope - Again, love Greek girls' names ending with "e". The poppy "P" sounds make it sound so happy and cheerful, and I also admire the mythological Penelope for her cleverness and fidelity.

Sebastian - Elegant and romantic, with a touch of bad boy allure (once you forget about the crab). It's been one of my strongest name crushes for a while, but I think now it has evolved into full-blown love.

Elizabeth - The ultimate classic girls' name. It has the "z" I love, and I like that it has a ton of possible nicknames. If we do ever have an Elizabeth, I'd like to call her Beth, because then we would both have nicknames inspired by "Little Women". (My nn is Meg.)

Gabriel - I tend to be fond of most of the iel/ael names, and Gabriel is my favorite of those. Too bad DH and I couldn't agree on what gender to use it on. (Gabrielle is one of his favorite girls' names. I like it, too, but not as much as I like Gabriel on a boy, which he doesn't really care for at all for some reason.)

Daphne - And yet another Greek girls' name that ends with "e"! The story of Daphne was always one of my favorite Greek myths, and it means "laurel", giving it a subtle connection to my sister's name, Laura.

Griffin- A strong Welsh name which I adore. Makes me think of Snowdonia and rural Wales as well as Welsh myths and legends.

Lincoln- The name of my OH's home town and also has the nickname Link, name of the protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series, a favourite of mine. OH has vetoed this name though

Nemo- a lovely Latin name with a JulesVerne connection which I adored long before the little clown-fish made it's way to the big screen. Not sure I could use it now as people would assume I was a Finding Nemo enthusiast!

Ezio- The protagonist of Assassin's Creed II, a strong Italian name which I love. Again people would assume I'm obsessed with Assassin's Creed!

Leonidas- Name of the Spartan King who lead 300 Spartans to fight the mighty Persian army. A name associated with intense bravery and I would love to endow it to one of my sons. Shame OH isn't so enthusiastic!

I love this, everyone -- thanks for starting this thread, AugustaLee! I also wanted to say, now that we've started the second blog on the home page hosting guest writers every day, that we are totally open to posts from anyone who'd like to write something. Linda is taking the lead in editing so you can email her privately at linda@nameberry.com with ideas or finished posts. You of course retain all rights and you are free to publish elsewhere and it is totally fine if you have already published the piece on your own blog. No pressure, of course, but just wanted to make it clear that the door is open!